Patrick Renames Ceremonial Guard Unit to Honor 54th Mass

06:50PM / Saturday, November 22, 2008Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick participated in a State House ceremony on Friday marking the redesignation of the Massachusetts National Guard Ceremonial Unit as the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment.

The unit was reorganized in honor of the state's famed 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first black regiment raised in the North during the Civil War and authorized by Gov. John Andrew in 1863. The regiment's best-known action was the charge on Battery Wagner in South Carolina, which killed its young leader Col. Robert Gould Shaw and saw the Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. William Carney.

Photos courtesy governer's office

Gov. Deval Patrick awards campaign streamers Friday to Guard units for their duties in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo at a ceremony in Nurses Hall at the State House

The regiment was featured in the film "Glory" and memorialized in a bronze relief by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens a century ago.

The change was prompted by National Guard leader Maj. Gen. Joseph Carter, the first black to lead the Massachusetts National Guard, and designated by Patrick, the state's first black governor.

Patrick also awarded campaign streamers to 31 Massachusetts Army and Air National Guard units returning from service in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.

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Police Investigating Car, Pedestrian Accident Near Allendale Shopping Center

Staff Reports01:04PM / Sunday, November 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A pedestrian was hit near the Dalton Avenue and Cheshire Road intersection Saturday evening, and the roadway was closed for a few hours.

On November 14, around 6:40 PM, the Pittsfield Police Department, Pittsfield Fire Department, and Action Ambulance responded to the area of 16 Cheshire Rd. for a report that a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle.

Upon arrival, responding officers located a male lying in the northbound lane with "obvious injuries," PPD said.

"Initial investigation showed that the victim was walking eastbound in the crosswalk in front of 16 Cheshire Rd when he was struck by a 2006 Chevy Malibu, traveling north," PPD wrote on Sunday.

"The operator of the vehicle was uninjured in the collision, and the victim was transported to Berkshire Medical Center with potentially life-threatening injuries."

Cheshire Road was closed for about four hours between Dalton Avenue and the entrance to Allendale Shopping Center while the accident was investigated and cleared up. The roadway reopened around 10:30 PM.

The FairBridge Inn Express is located at 16 Cheshire Rd.

The accident remains under investigation by the Pittsfield Police Traffic Unit. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident or may have witnessed this vehicle traveling on Dalton Ave shortly before the accident is asked to contact Sergeant David Hallas at 448-9700 Ext. 560 or Officer Matthew Farnham at Ext. 531.

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